China State Media Steps Up U.S. Criticism for Hong Kong Meddling
China State Media Steps Up U.S. Criticism for Hong Kong Meddling
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese state media stepped up criticism of the U.S. and accused it of meddling in China’s domestic affairs, as President Donald Trump deliberates signing into a law an amendment that would require annual reviews of Hong Kong’s special trading status with it.
Attempts to use Hong Kong “to contain China’s development is a pipe dream,” according the state-run People’s Daily, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday called the U.S. the “biggest destabilizing element.” American politicians risk pushing the city into a “more dangerous abyss” as they use the “Hong Kong card” to contain China’s growth, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday.
“Some U.S. politicians have gone into a frenzy to do whatever to curtail and contain China, by fair means or foul,” the People’s Daily said in a front-page commentary. “Their evil hope is that Hong Kong will go down in chaos and become a card in their hands to hold back China’s development.”
Trump has declined to say if he will sign the amendment to the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, which was passed by the House and Senate. He has the option to sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature by taking no action for 10 days. Alternatively, he could return it to Congress with a veto. At that point, Congress can override the veto with two-thirds votes in both chambers.
The changes to the Act would require annual reviews of Hong Kong’s special trading status under U.S. law to determine if it remained “sufficiently autonomous” from Beijing to justify its privileges.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a meeting with his Dutch counterpart in Japan on Saturday, said Washington’s move was a threat to Hong Kong’s stability.
“The U.S. has interfered in China’s internal affairs and tried to damage our ‘one country, two systems’ principle and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong,” according to remarks made by Wang Yi published on the Foreign Ministry website. It “violates the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations,” he said.
The U.S. president said last week that “we’re going to take a very good look at it,” but declined to say if he would sign it. Trump told Fox News that the only reason Chinese President Xi Jinping isn’t sending soldiers into the Hong Kong “is because I’m saying it’s going to affect our trade deal”.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan took a conciliatory line on Saturday, according to state-owned China Global Television Network. In a meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the vice president called on both sides to handle strategic issues in bilateral ties with a broader vision and a longer-term perspective.
The two countries, which have many more similarities than differences, would benefit from cooperation and would both suffer in any confrontation, CGTN cited Wang as saying.
The nations should follow the “direction and the principles set by Chinese President Xi and U.S. President Trump in their meetings,” and should “consider a series of major strategic issues in bilateral ties in an objective and reasonable manner,” he said, according to CGTN.
China has vowed to take countermeasures against the U.S. legislation but has to balance its response and the effects it would have on trade talks with Washington, which are entering their final stages in phase one of a deal.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley James
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg